Development and validation of numerical methods for aeromechanical analysis of small HAWT

Since problems connected with atmospheric pollution emerge, the world started to think other smart solutions to convert energy. Renewable sources are now the most effecting tools that electricity distributor companies have for convert energy in a “green way”. Wind power has been used for at least 3000 years for grinding grain, pumping water or simply sailing ships, but only in the last 50-year period has become a field of study. Wind turbines are, generally speaking, machine where a good aerodynamics is the key for a good efficiency, and by this reason, several campaigns were carried on from numerous research institutes. This thesis was developed with a 5-month internship at Morfo Design Srl inside the RD section and has the aim of develop (and validate) numerical methods for aeromechanical analysis of small horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). Both CFD and FEM analysis were involved in the procedure, in order to establish respectively which numerical set up is better for an aerodynamic analysis and for the determination of the blade stiffness. The CFD has allowed to determine the blade loading, torque and thrust on the rotor and the velocity field of the wake. The obtained CFD results were compared with experimental data from the MEXICO rotor project campaign (IEA Wind Task 29 Mexnext) with a decent overall agreement. Differently, FEM analysis was done for the evaluation of the flexional and torsional rigidity that will be used for further analysis.